We started off the day thinking about bootstrapping.  The early conversations at Innovation Breakfast were about bootstrapping but we were quickly sidetracked with conversations about individual entrepreneurial ventures.  (This is a great group to get feedback from if you are working on the early stages of a project.)

However, before the end of the formal introductions, things shifted again and we were immersed in a conversation about how you raise funds and fund your venture while working full time.  18 months ago the majority of entrepreneurs we ran across were entrepreneurs because they were not working.  They had the opportunity to follow their dream and build something new because they had been pushed out of their comfy nests into the cold.  (i.e. “I lost my job, now I am an entrepreneur.”)  Some of these entrepreneurs were casting about for their raison d’etre.  At the other end of the spectrum were entrepreneurs with fully-fleshed out business plans and product prototypes.

Times have changed and over the last few months, we’ve had more visitors to Innovation Breakfast who have jobs and entrepreneurial dreams.  They have a concept, products and business plans and full-time jobs.  So, how do you fund your new venture when you have a job?  How do you make time to pursue funding, or, if you are creating a business yourself (to avoid hiring people), how do you find time to do that? Sleep seems to be the first thing to go.  At MassChallenge the busiest in-office hours seem to be afternoon and evening, because people were working until late the previous evening.  What about you?  How are you managing the search for funds if you are also working?